Christmas Ice Decor: 14 Frozen Winter Ideas That Wow Party Guests for Pennies

Christmas ice decor is the prettiest thing you can make with nothing but water, a few berries and a cold night. There is something magic about seeing red cranberries and green pine trapped in clear ice, sparkling in the winter sun. Guests always stop and ask how you did it, and the honest answer is that the freezer did most of the work. Many of these ideas went viral after people saw a frozen decor post on Instagram and started trying it at home. You only need bowls, pans, water and things you already have, like greenery from the yard and fruit from the kitchen. If you live where winters freeze, the outdoor ones last for weeks. Here are our favorite frozen ideas for this year..

Christmas Ice Decor for a Winter Party Table

This snowy table shows what a little ice can do. An ice bucket with ornaments frozen in the walls keeps drinks cold, a cranberry ice wreath sits on a cake plate, small ice luminaries glow with battery LED tea lights, and a punch bowl floats a ring of citrus. Every piece started as plain water in a bowl or pan. Make them a day or two before the party and keep them in the freezer or outside if it is below freezing. Which one would you make first for your party..

You will need: freezer space or a freezing night, bowls and pans of different sizes, water, cranberries, citrus, greenery, small shatterproof ornaments, battery LED tea lights.

How to make it: 1. Pick two or three ideas and gather your molds. 2. Freeze each piece at least overnight. 3. Set them out just before guests arrive on trays to catch drips.

Ornament Ice Bucket From Two Containers

This ice bucket looks like it came from a fancy hotel, but it is made with two plastic containers, one smaller than the other. Set the small one inside the big one, weigh it down with rocks or cans, and fill the gap with water, pine sprigs and small shatterproof ornaments. Freeze it overnight, run warm water over the outside to release it, and fill it with bottles of sparkling cider or juice. It keeps drinks cold for hours. Will this be the star of your drink table?

You will need: a large plastic bucket, a smaller plastic container, heavy cans or rocks, water, small shatterproof ornaments, pine sprigs, a tray.

How to make it: 1. Set the small container inside the large one and weigh it down. 2. Fill the gap with ornaments, pine and water. 3. Freeze overnight, then loosen with warm water and lift out.

Christmas Ice Decor: Cranberry and Rosemary Ice Wreath

Cranberries and rosemary look like they were made to be frozen together. Fill a ring shaped cake pan with a layer of cranberries, rosemary sprigs and thin orange slices, add a little water and freeze it, then top it up and freeze again so everything stays in place. Pop it out on a tray for the center of your table. This piece of Christmas ice decor shines brightest near a window where the light can pass through. It is the one guests always photograph. Where would you put yours?

You will need: a ring shaped cake pan, fresh cranberries, rosemary sprigs, one orange, water, a tray or cake plate.

How to make it: 1. Arrange the fruit and herbs in the pan. 2. Add an inch of water, freeze, then fill to the top and freeze again. 3. Dip the pan in warm water and turn it out onto a tray.

Citrus Slice Ice Ring for the Punch Bowl

A floating ice ring keeps punch cold without watering it down as fast as small cubes. Line a ring mold with thin slices of lemon, lime and orange plus a few mint leaves, then fill with water or juice and freeze. When the party starts, slide it into the punch bowl and watch the colors float. If you love citrus decor, our dried orange slices are another easy way to use oranges all season. Try freezing the ring with juice for extra flavor. What punch would you serve with it?

You will need: a ring mold or bundt pan, lemons, limes, oranges, fresh mint, water or juice, a punch bowl.

How to make it: 1. Slice the fruit thin and press it against the sides of the mold. 2. Fill with water or juice and freeze. 3. Unmold and float it in the punch.

Christmas Ice Decor Ornaments for Outdoor Trees

Turn a tree in the yard into a sparkling display with frozen ornaments. Fill muffin tins or small round containers with pine sprigs, red berries and orange slices, lay a loop of ribbon in each with the ends in the water, and freeze. On a cold day, hang them from branches where you can see them from the window. These only work where the days stay below freezing, but they last for weeks when it is cold. Kids love to help pick what goes inside. Which tree would you decorate?

You will need: muffin tins or small plastic containers, pine sprigs, red berries, orange slices, water, sturdy ribbon.

How to make it: 1. Fill each cup with greenery, fruit and water. 2. Lay a ribbon loop with both ends in the water. 3. Freeze solid, pop them out and hang on branches.

Christmas Ice Decor: Ice Luminaries With LED Tea Lights

Ice luminaries make the whole porch glow. Freeze water between a plastic cup and a larger container, with greenery and cranberries in the gap, to make a thick ice cup. Set a battery LED tea light inside, never a real candle, and the ice lights up like amber glass. Line them up on steps or along a path. This kind of Christmas ice decor is beautiful on a snowy night and costs almost nothing. The LED lights stay cool and safe and switch off in the morning. How many would line your steps?

You will need: plastic containers in two sizes, heavy cans to weigh down, water, evergreen sprigs, cranberries, battery LED tea lights.

How to make it: 1. Set a small cup inside a larger container and weigh it down. 2. Fill the gap with greenery, berries and water and freeze. 3. Unmold and set an LED tea light inside.

Herb Ice Cubes in Little Tree Shapes

A silicone tree mold turns plain ice cubes into tiny frozen forests. Drop a small sprig of rosemary or thyme and a few pomegranate seeds into each cavity, fill with water and freeze. For clearer ice, use boiled water that has cooled. This tiny bit of Christmas ice decor makes every glass of sparkling water or lemonade look special, and they are a fun little detail for a holiday brunch. Make a big batch and keep them in a freezer bag. Would your guests notice the tiny trees?

You will need: a silicone tree shaped ice mold, fresh rosemary or thyme, pomegranate seeds, water, a freezer bag.

How to make it: 1. Place a small herb sprig and a few seeds in each cavity. 2. Fill with cooled water and freeze. 3. Pop them out and store in a freezer bag.

Frozen Evergreen Suncatchers

Suncatchers made of ice are like stained glass that nature made. Use shallow pie tins or plastic lids, lay in cedar, berries and dried orange slices, add a loop of twine and a little water, and freeze. Hang them on a bare branch where the sun shines through. Birds might even stop by to check out the berries. They melt slowly on warmer days and you can make new ones all winter long. It is the sweetest Christmas ice decor project to do on a snow day. What would you freeze inside yours?

You will need: shallow pie tins or plastic lids, cedar sprigs, red berries, dried orange slices, twine, water.

How to make it: 1. Arrange the greenery and fruit in the tin. 2. Lay in a twine loop and add a shallow layer of water. 3. Freeze, unmold and hang in the sun.

Ice Bowl With Flowers Frozen Inside

An ice bowl with flowers in its walls is a showstopper on a holiday buffet. Set a small bowl inside a larger one, tape it in place, and tuck roses, petals and greenery into the gap before adding water. Freeze overnight and release with warm water. Fill it with grapes, clementines or chilled shrimp. Set it on a tray with a lip to catch drips, since it will slowly melt during the party. It looks like it cost a fortune. What would you serve in it?

You will need: two bowls that nest with a gap, tape, red roses or petals, small greenery sprigs, water, a tray with a lip.

How to make it: 1. Nest the small bowl inside the large one and tape it in place. 2. Fill the gap with flowers, greenery and water and freeze. 3. Remove both bowls with warm water and fill with fruit.

Bundt Pan Ice Wreath for the Front Door

A bundt pan gives an ice wreath those pretty fluted ridges. Fill it with holly leaves, red berries and pine, add water and freeze. Thread a wide, strong ribbon through the center and hang it on a sturdy door hook. Ice is heavy, so use a strong hook and hang it on a door that will not swing hard. In freezing weather it lasts for days and sparkles every morning. This is a show stopping piece of Christmas ice decor that costs less than a coffee. Would your neighbors stop to look?

You will need: a bundt pan, holly leaves, red berries, pine sprigs, water, wide strong ribbon, a sturdy door hook.

How to make it: 1. Pack the greenery and berries into the bundt pan. 2. Fill with water and freeze overnight. 3. Unmold, thread the ribbon through the center and hang it.

Christmas Ice Decor Lanterns Along the Walkway

Imagine guests walking up to your door between rows of glowing ice lanterns. Make them in buckets or large yogurt tubs with a smaller cup frozen in the middle, then set a battery LED light inside each one. Place them every few feet along the path. They look magical at dusk and stay lit all evening on a timer. In very cold places they can last the whole season. This is the kind of Christmas ice decor people remember for years. Is your walkway ready for it?

You will need: buckets or large tubs, smaller cups, heavy cans, water, battery LED tea lights or puck lights with timers.

How to make it: 1. Freeze water in each bucket around a weighted cup. 2. Unmold and set them along the walkway. 3. Place an LED light in each one and set the timers.

Colored Ice Spheres for the Garden

These look like giant glass marbles left in the snow. Add a few drops of food coloring to water balloons, fill them with water, tie them shut and let them freeze outside or in the freezer. Peel off the balloon and you have bright, glossy spheres. Group them in a garden bed or along the porch. Pick up every scrap of balloon right away so pets and little ones cannot find them. Kids think this is the best Christmas ice decor craft ever. Which colors would you choose?

You will need: water balloons, food coloring, water, a freezer or a freezing night, scissors.

How to make it: 1. Add food coloring to each balloon, then fill with water and tie. 2. Freeze until solid. 3. Cut away the balloon, throw the pieces away and arrange the spheres.

Snowflake Ice Cubes for Holiday Drinks

Snowflake shaped ice cubes are such a small thing, but they make a simple drink feel festive. Silicone snowflake molds are cheap and easy to find in winter. Freeze plain water for clear cubes, or freeze cranberry juice for pink ones. Drop them into sparkling juice with a sprig of rosemary and you have a drink that looks like a winter wonderland. Christmas ice decor like this is great for a hot cocoa bar too, if you use them in cold milk for the kids. How many trays would you fill?

You will need: a silicone snowflake ice mold, water or juice, rosemary sprigs, cranberries, clear glasses.

How to make it: 1. Fill the mold with water or juice. 2. Freeze until solid. 3. Pop them into glasses and add a rosemary sprig.

Frozen Ornament Garland for the Porch Railing

Line a porch railing with sparkle by stringing small ice discs on a long ribbon. Use a muffin tin, fill each cup with berries, pine and a tiny shatterproof ornament, then lay one long ribbon across all the cups so it freezes into each disc. Once frozen, lift the whole garland out and drape it along the railing. It glitters in the sun on cold days. This Christmas ice decor is a fun twist on the usual green garland and a pretty way to finish the look. Where would you hang yours?

You will need: a muffin tin, red berries, pine sprigs, small shatterproof ornaments, a long ribbon, water.

How to make it: 1. Fill each muffin cup with berries, pine and a mini ornament. 2. Lay a long ribbon across all the cups and add water. 3. Freeze, lift out the garland and drape it on the railing.